Sariakandi Upazila

Sariakandi Upazila (bogra district) area 408.50 sq km, located in between 24°44' and 25°04' north latitudes and in between 89°31' and 89°45' east longitudes. It is bounded by saghatta and sonatala upazilas on the north, dhunat and kazipur upazilas on the south, islampur, madarganj and sarishabari upazilas on the east, gabtali upazila on the west.

Population Total 270719; male 135266, female 135453; Muslim 264733, Hindu 5955, Christian 1, Buddhist 1 and others 29.

Water bodies Main rivers: jamuna, bangali.

Administration Sariakandi Thana was formed in 1886 and it was turned into a Municipality in 1999.

Upazila
Municipality	Union	Mouza	Village	Population		Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
				Urban	Rural		Urban	Rural
1	12	117	173	18543	252176	663	50.5	35.9

Municipality
Area (sq km)	Ward	Mahalla	Population	Density (per sq km)	Literacy rate (%)
3.58	9	17	18543	5180	50.5

Union
Name of union and GO code	Area (acre)	Population		Literacy rate (%)
		Male	Female
Karnibari 56	12919	12672	11807	43.1
Kazla 55	16509	13534	12657	20.7
Kamalpur 44	5337	11557	11921	35.7
Kutubpur 63	4837	12470	13250	42.4
Chandan Baisha 25	3180	5038	5499	37.7
Chaluabari 19	14456	8994	8388	19.5
Narchi 75	3881	9168	9844	44.7
Fulbari 31	5879	16328	17033	45.1
Bohail 12	17156	12062	11277	22.0
Bhelabari 11	3646	8252	8471	35.2
Sariakandi 88	5443	7832	7947	38.6
Hat Sherpur 37	6817	7961	8214	41.0

Source  Bangladesh Population Census 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Archaeological heritage and relics Residence of zamindar Kashi Roy at village Harina under Fulbari union, remnants of' Neelkuthi at the upazila sadar.

War of Liberation Sariakandi upazila was under Sector 7 during the war of liberation. Freedom fighters had an encounter with the Pak army on 16 August at village Ramchandrapur of Sariakandi in which 5 Pakistani soldiers, one police sub inspector and a number of razakars were killed. On 6 May the Pak army shot 3 persons dead at a bazar near Sonatala Bandar. In the third week of August the freedom fighters destroyed a bridge at Sariakandi. On 20 August, a motor launch carrying Pakistani soldiers was destroyed by attack of the freedom fighters with rocket lancers. In this month the freedom fighters destroyed a bridge on the Sariakandi road by explosion. 6 Pakistani soldiers and one officer were killed by mine explosion near the bridge. The freedom fighters killed 6 police constables at Fulbarighat on their way to Sariakandi from Bogra on 4 September. Many Pakistani soldiers were killed in an encounter with the freedom fighters at village Tajurpara on 19 September. On 20 October another encounter between the freedom fighters and the Pak army was held at villages Narchi and Ganakpara in which 9 Pak soldiers including one Captain and 12 Bangalis were killed. On 10 November the freedom fighters killed 4 Pak soldiers a including Colonel by mine explosion at village Baiguni of this upazila. Two freedom fighters were killed in an encounter with the Pak army in Sariakandi upazila on 28 November. The freedom fighters attacked Sariakandi Police Station in which 18 Pak soldiers and razakars were killed. In this encounter 3 freedom fighters were also killed. Besides, the freedom fighters inflicted capital punishment to 19 razakars for their collaboration with the Pak army and executed it at a place on the bank of the Jamuna.

For details: see সারিয়াকান্দি উপজেলা, বাংলাদেশ মুক্তিযুদ্ধ জ্ঞানকোষ (Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation), বাংলাদেশ এশিয়াটিক সোসাইটি, ঢাকা ২০২০, খণ্ড ১০।

Religious institutions Mosque 465, temple 6, tomb 1.

Literacy rate and educational institutions Average literacy 36.9%; male 40.6%, female 33.4%. Educational institutions: college 5, secondary school 22, primary school 160, madrasa 30. Noted educational institutions: Chandannaish Degree College (1964), Jamthol Technical Management College (2001), Naokhila Government Primary School (1901), Devdanga Government Primary School (1903), Chhagaldhara Government Primary School (1904), Sariakandi Model Government Primary School (1905), Hat Fulbari Government Primary School (1905), Kazla Primary School (1905).

Cultural organisations Club 20, cultural society 2, women organisation 4, theatre group 1, cinema hall 2.

Main sources of income Agriculture 67.82%, non-agricultural labourer 2.03%, industry 0.57%, commerce 11.71%, transport and communication 2.35%, service 6.24%, construction 1.33%, religious service 0.11%, rent and remittance 0.20% and others 7.64%.

Ownership of agricultural land Landowner 56.61%, landless 43.39%; agricultural landowner: urban 33.41% and rural 58.41%.'

Main crops Paddy, jute, wheat, mustard, vegetables.

Extinct or nearly extinct crops Sesame, linseed, arahar, Khesari, black gram, kaun, sweet potato.

Main fruits Mango, jackfruit, guava, banana, papaya.

Fisheries, dairies and poultries 'Fishery 1232, dairy 110, poultry 85.

Communication facilities Pucca road 86 km, semi-pucca road 9.04 km, mud road 406.06 km; waterway 17.4 km.

Extinct or nearly extinct traditional transport Palanquin, horse carriage, bullock cart, soari.

Noted manufactories Rice mill 38, ice cream factory 9, foods and beverage industry 233, metal work 20, welding factory 12.

Cottage industries Goldsmith 47, blacksmith 74, potteries 250, weaving 30, wood work 251, bamboo work 175, tailoring 225.

Hats, bazars and fairs Hats and bazars are 20, fairs 3, most noted of which are Fulbari Hat, Sariakandi Hat, Chandan Baisha Hat, Sree Panchami Mela at village Harina and Paush Mela at Chaihata.

Main exports Jute, vegetables.

Access to electricity All the wards and unions of the upazila are under rural electrification net-work. However 28.1% of the dwelling households have access to electricity.

Sources of drinking water Tube-well 95.7%, tap 0.2% and others 4.1%.

Sanitation 67.7% of dwelling households of the upazila use sanitary latrines and 21.8% of dwelling households use non-sanitary latrines; 10.5% of households do not have latrine facilities.

Health centres Upazila health centre 1, family planning centre 12, satellite clinic 4, clinic 1.

Natural disasters Many people were victims of the famines of 1866 and 1874, earthquakes of 1885 and 1897, and the floods of 1959 and 1984. These natural disasters also caused heavy damages to settlements, crops and other properties of the upazila.

NGO activities Operationally important NGOs are brac, World Vision, asa, thengamara mahila sabuj sangha. [Md. Hafizur Rahman]

References Bangladesh Population Census 2001 and 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Cultural survey report of Sariakandi Upazila 2007.